


the days are getting shorter

by saddestboner



Series: Tumblr Prompts [20]
Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Camping, Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Kissing, M/M, worrying about the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 00:58:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13823109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saddestboner/pseuds/saddestboner
Summary: The two of them go camping in the desert after the trade.





	the days are getting shorter

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://nullrefer.com/?https://saddestboner.tumblr.com/post/171367941246/16-kinslerj-upton) in response [this meme](http://nullrefer.com/?https://saddestboner.tumblr.com/post/171288033972/khirsahle-send-me-a-number-and-a-pairing-and).
> 
> Title from "Homecoming," by Josh Ritter.

The two of them go camping in the desert after the trade. Justin’s never really been crazy about the desert, even though he still makes his offseason home there. For one, there are scorpions in the desert and Justin hates scorpions. Another thing is it gets surprisingly cold at night. Justin had thought since it was, like, nothing but miles and miles of sand it never got cold, but the first time him and Ian went camping Justin had underpacked and ended up pressed into Ian’s side, cold and shivering. Waking up spooning with Ian wasn’t one of Justin’s proudest moments. 

This time, he’s prepared. He packed a fleecey blanket, a proper windbreaker, a wool cap, and some gloves.

Justin texts pictures of some gnarled cacti and sends them back to Ashley with smart-ass captions about past teammates. One of them—a tall, twisted thing that looks like it has a beard—he captions **Daniel Norris???** and he just gets back a row of crying laughing emojis.

“How long’d it take you to get used to Anaheim?” Ian asks him, as they sit together roasting marshmallows on the ends of sticks.

Justin shrugs. “Not too long,” he says. “A couple days for the jetlag, then it was smooth sailing after that.”

Ian nods. He picks thoughtfully at his marshmallow and it drips from the end of his stick, all slick and stringy. “I’ve been thinking about it,” Ian says. “There’s a lot to be excited about but...”

Ian trails off.

“Future can be scary, even for guys like us who’ve been around forever,” Justin says, plucking his marshmallow off the end of his stick. He pops it between his lips and bites down, the gooey center oozing out onto his tongue.

He’s only ever roasted marshmallows with Ashley and Syd, from the safety of their living room. That was one of the reasons they always went for a place with a fireplace. Justin remembers pretending to roast marshmallows in the kitchen of their old house with his brother, just sitting on little wooden stools in front of the stove pretending they were out camping in the middle of the wilderness together.

Ian picks a marshmallow out of the plastic bag lying between them and puts one on the end of his stick.

“Kinda thought my future was settled,” Ian admits. “In Detroit. Wanted to end my career there.”

Justin had never really thought he’d finish out his career in Detroit. Not with that opt-out looming. They’d never talked about whether or not he’d use it, but if he’d been asked he would’ve been honest and told them he was going to use it.

Now he’s back on the West Coast, closer to Ashley and their daughter. Nothing but perfect blue skies and foam-tipped waves. It’s everything Justin could’ve hoped for. 

Justin grabs another marshmallow out of the bag. “You’ll like Anaheim,” he tells him, as he sticks the marshmallow on the end of his stick and holds it in front of the crackling fire. “Weather’s always nice. It never rains.”

Ian nods, humming thoughtfully. “Tess and the kids’re staying in Texas,” he says. “They’ll come out to visit when they can but with both of ‘em enrolled in school and extracurriculars...”

“It’ll be hard,” Justin finishes. “I get ya.”

Ian lifts his head and their eyes meet, some unspoken look passing between them.

Justin remembers when Ashley and Syd stayed in San Diego after he signed in Detroit. It was only for a few months, but the separation was unbearable. FaceTime was a paltry consolation. Justin still suspects the separation might’ve contributed to his rocky start to the season.

“At least I got you,” Ian says, flashing Justin a sharply-angled grin that creases in the corners of his eyes.

“Yeah,” Justin says. He pulls his marshmallow away from the fire.

Ian leans in then, their lips brushing almost hesitantly before he presses in and in, his tongue sliding between Justin’s lips. 

Justin hasn’t done this sort of thing much—at least, with other dudes. Ashley knows what he gets up to when he’s on the road; they’ve always been honest with each other. But Justin’s never really been one to act on these urges. Too many complications, especially when it’s a teammate.

But it’s a nice kiss. Ian’s mouth feels familiar and his tongue tastes like marshmallows.

When they separate, Ian looks away and Justin can see a flush spread across his cheeks. Shadows dance across his face.

“Hey, man,” Justin says. “It’s cool.”

Ian looks at him, nodding a little. “Cool.”

Justin sets his stick down and reaches out, brushing his knuckles against Ian’s. 

After a moment, Ian presses his knuckles back.

**Author's Note:**

> The author of this piece intends no insult, slander, or copyright infringement, and is not profiting from this work. This story is a complete work of fiction and does not necessarily reflect on the nature of the individuals featured. This is for entertainment purposes only. If you found this story while Googling your name or the names of your friends, hit the back button now.


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